Projectile



7 (No Model.)

H. B. LITTLEPAGE. PROJEGTILE. No. 275,674. Patented Apr. 10,1883.

Wfiness-asi Md M UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARDIN B. LITTLEPAGE, OF KING WILLIAM COURT-HOUSE, VIRGINIA.

PROJECTILE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 275,674, dated April10, 1883.

Application filed December .27, 1882.

(No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HARDIN B. LITTLEPAGE, ofKing William (JOurtJEIouse, in the county of King William and State ofVirginia, have invented certain Improvements in Projectiles, of whichthe following is a specification.

My invention relates to a novel construction of projectiles, and mannerof using the same for the purpose of disabling ordnance while in action;and the invention consists in so constructing the projectile that whenit strikes the object aimed at it will separate into sections orfragments of a wedge-shaped form; and it further consists in firing suchprojectiles into the muzzle of a loaded piece of ordnance, so that thewedge-shaped fragments or sections shall lie in the bore of saidordnance, and, acting as a wedge, in connection with the projectilepassing from said ordnance-when fired, serve to disrupt or burst andthus disable the same, as hereinafter more fully set forth.

Figures 1, 2, 3, and at represent side elevations of an elongatedprojectile made on my plan, and Figs. 5, 6, 7, and 8 are rear end viewsof the same. Fig.9 represents a spherical projectile made on the sameplan; and Fig. 10 is a side elevation of a loaded piece of ordnance,partly in section, designed toillustrate the mode of operation of myimproved projectile.

The object of this invention is to provide a means by which the guns ofan enemy may be destroyed while in action, and incidentally to destroyor disable the vessel in which the'gun may be mounted; and to that endit consists primarily in so constructing the projectile that it may befired from any ordinary fire-arm or gun, and,when it strikes, separateinto sections or pieces, one or more of which shall be wedgeshaped inform. I

At the present day most war-vessels are armored and provided with a fewguns of large caliber. It follows that if the opposing party is providedwith means by which these few heavy guns can be disabled the vesselwhich contains them will be rendered defenseless and its armamentuseless.

To accomplish this result is the object of my present invention; and tothat end 1 construct a projectile in such a manner that while it may befired from an ordinary gun it will, on striking the object aimed at, beseparated into secwhen fired from a rifled gun.

ration areindicated by the lines 6, marked thereon, and in Fig. 9 I haverepresented a spherical projectile with similar lines. In all thesecases the lines are so drawn that when the pro ject-ile breaks up orseparates one or more of the seotionsor pieces will be wedge-shaped; or,instead of making the projectile in a solid piece with these slits orweakened lines, it may be made of separate pieces or sections of theforms indicated by said lines 0, the sections of course being so formedthat when united the whole shall have the form and outline of anordinary projectile, as indicated in the drawings. In such case, wherethey are composed of separate sections, the whole will be bound togetherwith sufficient force to enable them to be fired from a gun, but so theywill separate by impact with a hard substance. This may be done bycasting around the sections, when put together, a jacket of lead orother soft metal or composition, or by wrapping them with canvas orother fibrous material properly secured, and which in either case willserve as a packing and to take the riliin; In the case of sphericalprojectiles they will necessarily be made with a recess in the form of agroove or grooves or ofasunken band around them, and as nearly as may beata right angle to the lines ofseparation, asindicated by the dottedlines in Fig. 9. In the case ofelongated projectiles the jacket maybeput on so as to protrude beyond the body, as indicated by the dottedlines in Fig. 1, or so as to come flush with the exterior, as indicatedby dotted lines in Fig. 4; or, if preferred, the spherical projectilemay be inclosed entirely in a suitable jacket, as above described.

It will ,ot course be understood that the strength of the jacket, or ofthe unbroken portions, in case they be made of one piece, willnecessarily vary with the weight of the projectile and the charge withwhich it is to be fired, and that for these reasons no exact directionscan be given in that particular. These points will be determined bycalculation and actual experiment.

It is my intention to make these projectiles of such sizes as to fitordinary arms, such as muskets or similar fire-arms used by marines, theGatling or other repeating guns with which vessels are now generallyprovided, and for howitzers or similar guns.

It will be seen by examining the figures of the drawings that in allcases the projectile is so divided that in each one there will be one ormore wedge-shaped sections, which is a. very important feature of myinvention. For instance, in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4 the parts A will form awedge with its point in one direction, while the parts B will formwedges with their points in the opposite direction. The part (3 in Fig.4 will be wedge-shaped at both ends, and the same is true of the partsmarked E in Fig. 9, and consequently whichever end foremost theprojectiles strike there will always be at least one section with itspoint toremost.

While the forms shown will serve to illustrate my invention, I do notwish to be understood as confining myself to these special forms, as itis obvious they may be greatly varied without departing from theprinciple of my invention, the essential requisite of which is that theprojectile shall in all cases present one or more section of a wedgeshape.

The manner of using the projectile is as follows: Supposing an enemysvessel to be approaching or within range, these projectiles are to befired so as to enter the mouth or muzzle of the guns onthe vessel of theenemy. As they strike they will be broken or separated into sections,some one or more of which will lie with their points toward the breechof the gun into the bore of which they have been fired, as indicated bya, Fig. 10. The moment this gun is fired its projectile, riding upon oneof these wedge-shaped pieces thus placed in its bore, will cause the gunto burst, andthus disable or destroy it; and as these large guns arecharged with several hundred pounds of powder, the explosion of such aquantity of powder within the turret or hold of a vessel willnecessarily destroy or disable the vessel also. It often happens thatthese armored vessels approach very close before they open fire, andin'all such cases there would be little or no difficulty in firing theseprojectiles into the muzzles of the guns,which varyfrom eight .to twentyinches in diameter, especially if a number of marines or a Gatling gunwere used for the purpose, and thus it would frequently happen that theenemy would be disabled at their attempt to fire the first shot.

While I have thus far described my projectile as being used against gunson vessels, it is obvious that it may be used in a similar manneragainst guns on land, whether in forts, batteries, or otherwise located.Oftentimes a sharpshooter, by carefully approaching an enemys works, maywith asingle fire plantone of these projectiles in the bore of a largegun, and thus render it useless; and the same may be 'done by men in asmall boatstealingquietly up on a vessel. In either case the bursting ofthe enemys gun will not only disable it, but will be almost certain toinjure those standing near. So, too, such of the projectiles as fail toenter the bore of the gun aimed at will take effect-upon the gunners andothers in the vicinity, especially as the separation of the parts willcause thenrto scatter more or less, and thus keep the gun silenced.

In case the projectile be made in one piece a small bursting charge witha percussionfuse may be used to insure the separation of the parts; andso, too, when a jacket is used, if desired. If found necessary, thesections may be held together by small pins of metal of such size andquality as to be broken by the impact of the projectile, in addition tothe jacket.

In makin these projectiles care should be taken to use a very hardmetal, but one having such tenacity as to prevent its being crushed orbroken into small fragments either by the impact or by the pressure onit of the projectile ot' the gun into which it is fired. Some of themany qualities of steel known to those familiar with the art will befound to answer the purpose.

I am aware that various forms of compound bullets have been made forfire-arms for the purpose of having their parts separate on leaving thegun, so as to form numerous missiles, and also that shells have beenconstructed with lines of cleavage so arranged as to cause them to burstinto a large number of fragments, and I do not claim eitherofthese;-but,

Having fully described my invention and the manner of using the same,what I claim IIO

